Tony McCoy has fractured at least one vertebra in a fall at Warwick and will be in a brace for up to four weeks. The seriousness of the injury means he will be anxious about his chances of riding at the Cheltenham Festival in mid-March. McCoy, the champion jumps jockey, was in a 'stable' condition at University Hospital Walsgrave in Coventry, where he spent last night.

The fall came in the day's feature race, the totesport.com Classic Chase, in which McCoy rode Arnold Layne for Caroline Bailey. Arnold Layne, the 3-1 favourite, was still in contention when falling at the 14th fence in the three-mile-five-furlong contest.

McCoy was immediately attended to at the scene before being lifted into an ambulance on a stretcher. He was conscious and talking. Recovery from fractured vertebrae usually takes six to eight weeks, which makes Cheltenham tight for McCoy. The Festival runs from 11-14 March.

The race was won by Alan King's 18-1 shot D'Argent, returning to his favourite course. With 30mm of rain the previous day, conditions were gruelling, but Robert Thornton's mount jumped to the lead seven fences from home and shrugged off the attentions of Philson Run to win by seven lengths. 'If he hadn't run well today we'd have retired him,' said King.